Dub Pistols – Live at the Wedgewood Rooms

Dub Pistols – Live at the Wedgewood Rooms

Had it really been almost a year since the mighty Pistoleros had graced our stage? Well, yes it had, almost to the day in fact! In what is now an annual occurrence, Dub Pistols live at the Wedgewood Rooms is always one hell of a party.

The band genuinely look forward to heading south and they’ve become good friends with the Beats and Swing crew, responsible for putting on the nights entertainment. When front man Barry Ashworth says he loves the vibe, you know he means it. Just follow them on social media and you will see it’s one of their most anticipated events of the tour.

Return of the Pistoleros

Last year at the Wedgewood Rooms, Dub Pistols played a full 2 hour show, which to be fair was always going to be hard to top. So, what did the Dub Pistols bring to Southsea in 2018? Well, it was a slightly less hectic affair, no Rodney P and only the one horn player. Not that matters too much, as the new album tends to feature Seanie Tee as guest vocals more than previous releases.

That said, having 2 MC’s alongside Barry Ashworth certainly brought a lot of energy with the Pistols last time. Rodney P was missed a little on tracks where he would take the lead, such as “Ganja”, although Seanie Tee tends to fill in the gaps more elsewhere.

This evening may have been a slightly shorter set, but they still pulled out all the best tracks. Crowd favourites included the chorus of “Peaches” by the Stranglers and of course “Mucky Weekend”. Both having the near sold-out Wedge in good voice.

Crazy Diamonds

Dub Pistols latest album “Crazy Diamonds” shows they’re not just about a good live performance. On record they throw up a range of influences from drum n bass, ska & reggae all in the mix. Even with different MC’s on the mic, translating it to the bigger stage always works well.

Speaking of which however, there was something lacking at times tonight with the upstrokes of the guitar a little lost. That aside, Dub Pistols live at the Wedgewood Rooms was yet again a great show all round. It may not have been quite up there with the previous year, but that didn’t seem to matter too much.

Although of course you want everything to run smoothly, but both band and crowd were also up for a big night out. It may be an obvious thing to say, but for some a gig on a Saturday evening means a drop more alcohol than on a school night. I mention this as although Barry Ashworth had several beers lined up on stage, others can’t handle the fun as easily.

Oh no, here we go again…

Someone getting punchy and being dragged out by security, another almost passing out and not to mention an intrusion upon my partners own personal space… and then mine too. All very strange, but through no fault of the group or indeed the venue.

Hats off then to Mr Ashworth himself for distracting attention from those couple of minor instances. It was here the frontman took the perfect opportunity to show his support for local charity Tonic Music for Mental Health, who had a merchandise stand at the back of the venue.

It wasn’t going to be a couple of unfortunate minor events that would spoil a Dub Pistols gig and why should it. So back to the music and the likes of the bands theme tune in “Pistoleros” had the crowd dancing away.

The set then came to a close with a version of “Gangster” by the Specials. Which just like the Stranglers reference earlier, the band like to put their own spin on and ended the night with an absolute blinder.